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Tiger Stadium Still Standing; Ready for Salvage Op

Cue the Sinatra music..except "There Used to Be a Ballpark" isn’t quite right. Tiger Stadium is still standing, an abandoned slice of history still waiting for the wrecking ball…and a big salvage auction this winter.

It wasn’t in the best neighborhood. It was, by the end, a little dumpy. But for Detroit fans, Tiger Stadium was a piece of their own personal history. Even though the Tigers played their last game at the corner of Michigan & Trumbull several years ago, the old ballpark has yet to meet the wrecking ball. That day is coming, but not before it’s picked apart for the baseball memorabilia that still lingers.

The club will sell everything from the seats to the signs to the lawn care equipment, in a computer-based auction in January or February.

USA Today reporter Mel Antonon wandered around the place recently and talked to some of it’s former workforce. They’re not exactly misty-eyed.

"I don’t understand the people who want to keep the ballpark because it is an eyesore," said Jack Morris, who won 198 games for the Tigers from 1977-90.

Hall of Fame outfielder Kaline agrees: "It was a great old ballpark for the fans to watch a game, but there was nothing else good about it."

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About Rich Mueller

Rich is the editor and founder of Sports Collectors Daily. A broadcaster and writer for more than 30 years and a collector for even longer than that, he's usually typing something somewhere. Type him back at [email protected]